“Samuel replied, ‘Don’t be afraid. Even though you have committed all this evil, don’t turn away from following the Lord. Instead, worship the Lord with all your heart.’” – 1 Samuel 12:20 Shame is a powerful thing. The truth is all of us have done things we are ashamed of. Usually,...
“When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished.’ Then bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.” – John 19:30 When Jesus walked this earth, he had a group of thousands that listened to his teachings, and a group of 12 disciples that went with him everywhere....
“Joshua was now old, advanced in age, and the Lord said to him, ‘You have become old, advanced in age, but a great deal of the land remains to be possessed.’” – Joshua 13:1 When it comes to the conquest of the Promised Land, the first person we think of is...
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” – Romans 8:1-2 I have an uncle who is an excellent mechanic. When I am working on my...
“Commit your activities to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” – Proverbs 16:3 Yesterday a good friend stopped by my shop to give me a hand with an old 1972 F100 pickup truck I am restoring. As we talked, we shared stories of times we should have gone back...
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name.” – Psalm 100:4 Those of you who have spent any time with me know that I begin almost every prayer with “thank you.” I believe it is proper to always enter the...
“The Lord spoke to Moses: ‘Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them: Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.’” – Leviticus 19:1-2 If you have ever spent any time reading the book of Leviticus (it is a daunting task!) you will realize that God had an...
“See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death. Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles, and they will mock him, spit on him, flog him, and kill...
“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” – Hebrews 6:10 (NIV) I am going to be completely honest for a moment; sometimes I get tired of being a pastor. If...
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.” – Romans 1:16 Yesterday I watched an Instagram video from one of my favorite actors. He made the video for a...
January 24, 2024 “If only my grief could be weighed, and my devastation placed with it on the scales.” – Job 6:2 Back in 2018, I broke both of my shoulders at the same time and had to have emergency surgery to repair them. I was quite a sight to see...
“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for...
“He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’” – Matthew 18:2-3 This past Sunday I experienced the incredible blessing of baptizing my youngest...
“And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.’…So she took some of its...
